Tram 28.

A beautiful day is on the way.32° predicted.Not a cloud in the sky so we need to get away early and make the most of before it gets too hot.

Today we bought an all day ticket which covers all the trams,trolley buses and the funiculars in Lisbon and we plan to take Tram 28 which is considered the most scenic route across a number of the hill suburbs and up to the St George's Castle above the  Alfama district.
Later in the day we will get the train out to Belem to see the market and buy the famous custard tarts in the original bakery. According to our guide yesterday only three people know the secret recipe and it is forbidden for them to travel together!!

We caught the tram up at the top of our hill,we were early enough to get a seat by the window and we sat back and enjoyed the ride. The tracks run up some pretty steep streets and traffic management here must be a nightmare. The streets are so narrow in places you can touch the walls from the tram. I managed a couple, etc of photos of board but it was lurching around a lot so not easy.. We got to the end of the line and we had to change trams and now there were queues so several trams later we got on board but without a seat up to the castle.

The trams go quite fast at times,sometimes they are packed with sightseers and when that happens the Tram just goes passed the stop. Some not very happy folk when that happens, ourselves included when we were waiting to get back from the castle at mid-day and lots of buses left us behind but they were tour ones but then 28 came and left us behind.

We arrived at the stop for the castle and we spent some time at the lookout as there were great views off the bay. I succumbed and bought a painting by a local artist who was selling them at the lookout. A charming scene of the steps and stairs,the bougainvillea and other images to remind me of Lisbon.

This site is of great strategic importance, although there is evidence of Stone Age occupation in the archeological excavations the Moors built the walls and established the site as a military site with  accomodation for their rulers.
Along came the Christians and vanquished the Moors and they established  their own military headquarters as well as constructing a castle.We had a great look around the ruins of the castle of St George, built for Royalty in the 13th  century.

Today the walls are a landmark high above the town, over the centuries they have served as a fortress to deter invaders,  they retain the old cannons but much has been rebuilt because of the earthquake in 1755.
Brad had been before so she gave the towers a miss but I explored as much as I could of the towers and walkways before it became too hot. We caught the tram back to Cais do Sodre where we were going to get off and go home for lunch but we decided to finish the tour first and tick Tram 28 off our bucket list.

After lunch we caught tram 15 out to Belem to visit the flea market in the gardens there and try out the Portugese custard tarts which are famous here. We got some and sat in the shade in the park and had a picnic. They were delicious served with cinnamon and icing sugar.A taste treat to remember.
Later we caught the tram back to Cais  do Sodre  and had an ice cream before riding in the funicular. This goes up the steepest incline of them all so we managed to jump on board without too much of a wait and grind our way to the top. We certainly got value for money from our day travel pass.
It has been a lovely day but very hot so time to chill out before tea. We are going to our tapas bar where we had a klovely meal the other evening.
Tomorrow we move on. We catch the overnight train to Madrid so more adventures to come....